A Ukrainian air defense team keeps watch over the sky in the Kyiv area. REUTERS
Ukraine military reported multiple Russian drone attacks on various regions just hours after a 30-hour "Easter truce" ended. The ceasefire, declared by Moscow, expired at midnight on Sunday, Moscow time. Both sides accused each other of breaking the truce during its short duration.
Ukraine's air force issued alerts for several regions, including Kyiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych reported hearing explosions. It was unclear whether there were casualties.
As the truce expired, Ukrainian officials warned residents to seek shelter due to the potential risk of drone strikes. The Kyiv region's air defense forces were active, reportedly engaging with targets. Ukraine also raised a "rocket danger" alert for central regions, as Russian aircraft were active in the northeastern and eastern parts of Ukraine.
In Mykolaiv, regional head Vitaliy Kim confirmed a missile attack but noted there were no casualties or damage. The Russian military has not commented on the drone attacks or the truce situation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated before the truce ended that President Vladimir Putin had not ordered its extension. The BBC has not verified the claims made by both sides.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump expressed hope for a deal between Russia and Ukraine soon. However, he did not provide details on how this might happen.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict has caused widespread devastation. Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. The war has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands, with most casualties being soldiers.
In response to a ceasefire request from the US and Ukraine, Moscow put forward a list of conditions. President Putin had announced a break in hostilities from 18:00 Moscow time on Saturday until midnight on Sunday. Both Russia and Ukraine agreed to cease military actions during this period, though Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky later accused Russia of continuing hostilities, citing nearly 2,000 cases of Russian shelling during the truce.
Zelensky said the heaviest shelling occurred near the besieged city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. He described the ceasefire as a "PR" exercise, criticizing Putin's announcement as an attempt to create a false impression of peace. Zelensky emphasized that Russia remained the source of the war's continuation.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense insisted that its troops had adhered to the ceasefire. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of using US-supplied Himars missiles during the truce period.
The ceasefire announcement came shortly after Trump threatened to withdraw from brokering further peace talks. However, a US State Department spokesperson reiterated Washington’s commitment to securing a full and lasting ceasefire, saying it was long past time to end the death and destruction caused by the war.
